EXCLUSIVE: Lady Clare Guinness died just two days before Christmas at the age of 51 – victims of Jeffrey Epstein say she could have provided ‘vital information’ into the paedophile financier’s abuse
Beaming next to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and his paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein, the British socialite accused of knowing about the American’s vile sex abuse is pictured for the first time with her friends. But victims have been deprived of Lady Clare Guinness’s “vital information” after the mother-of-two tragically succumbed to brain cancer just days before Christmas. A victim of Epstein said last night: ”As sad as such a death is, yet another of those holding vital information about Jeffrey’s abuse can no longer help those who to this day carry the scars of what he and his associates did to us.”
The Sunday Mirror first revealed Guinness’s involvement with Epstein in May 2020 – days later, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) made her, the wife of the brewing dynasty heir, the subject of intense scrutiny over her links to the US paedophile. Newly discovered documents from its officers show the Countess of Iveagh’s links to Epstein came under scrutiny after flight records revealed she had accompanied the paedophile on more than 30 journeys to his Caribbean island and properties in New York, Ohio and New Mexico. Fresh material uncovered by the Mail on Sunday in the Epstein Files – a vast cache of documents currently being reviewed by the US Congress – shows that how the NCA contacted the FBI to flag that Guinness, was “allegedly a close contact of Epstein” and that a woman, whose identity has been redacted, had claimed “she was sexually abused” by her.
On June 30, 2020, Michael Manley, the NCA’s liaison officer at the British embassy in Washington, wrote to the FBI raising the allegations surrounding the Countess.
In a letter bringing the matter “to the attention of the FBI”, Manley said the Countess, then president of the West Suffolk branch of the NSPCC, was facing an internal investigation by the children’s charity to assess whether she remained “suitable to hold the position of president”.It was believed it followed Virginia Giuffre’s allegation on X that she had been “sexually abused” by her. Manley said the NCA did not “hold any derogatory information” on the socialite but described her as “allegedly a close contact” of Epstein, who took his own life in August 2019 as he awaited trial.
He added that the agency wanted to know whether the NSPCC’s internal investigation would “adversely affect” the FBI and US Department of Justice inquiry into Epstein’s extensive network and possible co-conspirators.
According to documents released as part of the Epstein Files, the letter prompted a flurry of emails between FBI agents in New York and officials at the bureau’s headquarters in Washington DC.
On August 18, 2020, an FBI official told a colleague that prosecutors in the office of the US attorney for the Southern District of New York did “not see an issue with them [the NSPCC] proceeding on an internal investigation into Clare Iveagh”.
Guinness, who died two days before Christmas aged 51, was remembered at a private funeral held at the picturesque Church of St Andrew and St Patrick in Elveden, on the 23,000-acre family estate straddling the Norfolk–Suffolk border.
The Countess’s two sons, aged 23 and 21 – with the elder set to inherit his father’s £900million fortune and title – led mourners in celebrating the life of their mother, who died after a “cruel” battle with brain cancer. But before marrying Ned Gusiness, the 4th Earl of Iveagh, in 2001, the former model spent several years in Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s inner circle.
A picture of them, with the then-Prince Andrew at Sandringham, was obtained by police in Paris investigating claims that French model agency boss Jean-Luc Brunel, who killed himself while awaiting trial for rape, recruited underage girls for Epstein, including three 12-year-old sisters. The triplets were presented to him as a surprise birthday present. Guinness, who once moved in London’s elite circles and rubbed shoulders with royals, flew on Epstein’s notorious private jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express”, more than 30 times between 1998 and 2000. Flight logs show her, known then by her maiden name Hazell, took 32 flights on the paedophile’s plane, including trips to his properties in New York, Florida, the Caribbean and New Mexico. Among them was a February 1999 journey when Prince Andrew himself was also on board. But worryingly for Guinness, she was named by the former Duke of York’s sex abuse accuser, Giuffre, in court filings as a witness who “has knowledge of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct and interaction with underage minors.”
While her – and those made by others against Lady Iveagh – were never tested in court in an interview with a New York-based journalist in 2020, Giuffre said her and Guiness were “intimate”.
She said: “I know she wasn’t forced into it, she obviously had a choice like we all did. I don’t think she necessarily wanted to be there. I can’t say anything bad about her.” The Mirror previously told how lawyers representing Epstein’s victims had sought to question the Countess as a witness but were unable to make contact. Before marrying the Earl of Iveagh, in a lavish ceremony at St Andrew’s and St Patrick’s Church in Suffolk, the mum-of-two was an accomplished horse rider who reportedly helped Epstein manage his stable of horses at his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
She went on to live at the brewing giants’ sprawling Elveden Estate, once described as one of Britain’s grandest country homes, before their eventual divorce. The pair had two children and were featured in House & Garden magazine in 2012, which portrayed the Countess as a picture of English country refinement. But behind the glossy façade, flight logs and witness testimony raised troubling questions about her past links to Epstein and Maxwell – a social world now synonymous with exploitation and abuse. In 2020, following the public disclosure of her connections to Epstein, Guinness, whose family’s history has been brought to life in a new Netflix drama called House of Guinness, resigned from her honorary role at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). She had served as president of the West Suffolk branch since at least 2011 and was known for organising the Elveden Classic Car Show, which raised thousands for child welfare charities. One of Epstein’s victims, Maria Farmer, told how she met Guinness while staying on the Ohio estate of billionaire retail magnate Les Wexner, Epstein’s mentor.
Farmer recalled being told the Brit “was from a poor farmer’s family and Ghislaine met her in a bar.” A university friend of Guinness later claimed that Epstein paid for her to attend Ohio State University in 1995, describing him as her “benefactor.”
The former friend, who spoke anonymously, said Guinness would take him on trips to Wexner’s private estate and to Epstein’s homes, recalling that “if Maxwell or Epstein contacted her or were in town, any other plans would be cancelled.” He stated: “It’s my opinion, but at some level I kind of felt like she was being shopped to eligible suitors.”
He described Guinness showing him photographs of her new boyfriend, believed to be one of Epstein’s wealthy associates, and said she seemed intent on finding “a certain man that was going to provide her with a certain lifestyle.”
The recently surfaced image featuring Mountbatten Windsor, Epstein, and Guinness was taken during a Sandringham shoot in early 1999, just weeks before the infamous photo of the Duke with a 17-year-old Giuffre, the picture that would ultimately lead to his downfall.
Also pictured at the same event is American billionaire Tom Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels, who, like Andrew, was later accused by Giuffre of sexual abuse, allegations he vehemently denies. A spokesman for Pritzker called the claims “a false and isolated allegation.”
Like Guinness, the billionaire was named as a witness by Giuffre in her case against Maxwell as someone who “has knowledge of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct and interaction with underage minors.”
The photo shed new light on Andrew’s circle at the time – a glittering yet deeply controversial mix of royals, billionaires, and socialites whose connections to Epstein have drawn global outrage.
Standing beside the Duke in the photo is Charles Butter, a godson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who often accompanied Maxwell to high-society London parties.
Butter has also been pictured at gatherings with Shelley Lewis, a self-styled “spiritual entrepreneur” once described as Epstein’s “secret girlfriend.”
The image also features Alexandra Dixon, whose name appeared in Epstein’s infamous “little black book,” and Caroline ‘Cazzy’ Stanley, Countess of Derby, who was briefly linked romantically to Andrew before marrying her husband Edward Stanley, a former Grenadier Guards officer.
Even Epstein’s attire raised eyebrows among onlookers. One courtier sneered that he looked “more suited for a shopping trip on Fifth Avenue than an English pheasant drive” in his $1,000 leather parka and LL Bean boots.
One guest also remembered a “German or Danish countess” being part of the party.
Once a fixture of Britain’s upper-class scene, Guinness’s transformation from socialite to being connected to the scandal has been swift and brutal.
Her marriage to Lord Iveagh brought her into one of Britain’s wealthiest dynasties, with the Earl’s fortune estimated at £856 million on the Sunday Times Rich List.
But her repeated presence on Epstein’s flight manifests and her inclusion in Giuffre’s witness list now cast a long shadow.
The allegations surrounding the wider Epstein network continue to reverberate.
While Maxwell serves a 20-year sentence in a cushy US prison for sex trafficking minors, questions continue to swirl around those who moved within Epstein’s orbit as US lawmakers demand all government files on the paedophile be released.
Already, new documents released by Congressional Democrats in the US show the Prince was listed as a passenger on Epstein’s private jet on a flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Palm Beach in Florida on May 12, 2000.
The papers also record a payment of $200 for a “massage for Andrew” on February 11 2000. It is not clear this is referring to the duke, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
For Andrew, who has long denied Giuffre’s claims and paid a reported £12 million out-of-court settlement without admission of guilt, the re-emergence of yet another photo linking him to Epstein’s circle is a devastating blow to his hopes of public rehabilitation.
For Guinness, the aristocrat once seen as a charity champion and country lady, it is an unwelcome reminder of her ties to a man whose name has become synonymous with predation and power.
As one source close to the investigation told the Mirror: “The photo doesn’t just capture a moment, it captures an entire world. The money, the privilege. And it’s a world that’s still being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the light.”
A source told the Mirror: “For years, Clare’s friendship with Epstein, Maxwell and Andrew went largely unnoticed, but make no mistake, those within Jeffrey’s circle were very familiar with her. His victims are, too. “Because of her striking looks, cut glass English accent, she is difficult to forget, and many haven’t. She wasn’t well-liked by many of the girls or staff in Jeffrey’s orbit and at the time was very much seen close friend of his.”
